From the Sky
by LeFae
Summary: A short one shot. Jane and van Pelt discuss her relationship with Rigsby.


"Yeah, I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Wayne Rigsby. Not far shy of six and a half feet tall, Rigsby bent down to grab his jacket and leant across the table to add his twenty to the tab. "Take care."

Patrick Jane beamed as Rigsby turned to leave.

"And then there were two!" he told his last remaining companion. Agent Grace van Pelt smiled politely back and placed her glass on the table.

"I should probably get going, too," she answered, reaching down for her bag.

"Oh, don't rush off - stay and have one more with me," wheedled Jane. He spun to face the bar. "Barkeep! I'll have .. oh, hell with it - we'll have a couple of shots of tequila, thanks."

"Jane!" protested Grace, her face suddenly serious. "Come on, it's getting late and we all have to be at work tomorrow. I don't want to be out getting drunk."

"I'm not going to get you drunk," Jane told her, with his best, 'trust me,' smile. "I said one more, I meant just one more. Would you prefer something sweeter? Baileys, perhaps?"

"Jane, no, seriously, I'm going to go," Grace told him, starting to reach down for her bag.

"Grace, he'll wait while you have one more drink. It won't kill him," Jane told her, softly.

Grace's eyes widened, briefly. There wasn't much point trying to ride this out, but she was going to do her best.

"What, what, who would - why do - what do you mean?" she stammered, cringing as every word left her lips.

"Rigsby, of course. He's standing out there now beside your car - I did notice that he got a lift here with Cho - and it's not cold, so he'll be fine. Have one more quick drink, and I promise I'll say nothing to anyone."

Grace looked at him carefully, and found herself agreeing.

"I can't believe you're blackmailing me like this," she said, as the Baileys landed in front of her. Jane passed over the cash to settle the tab, and shrugged.

"Blackmail's a dirty word, Grace. I just wanted to chat. I think it's great you two kids are finally together. You look very happy."

"Jane, I really don't think it's appropriate for us to be - "

"Oh, Grace, come now. We're two friends, sitting here shooting the breeze. I just wanted to tell you that whatever it is, you should forgive him."

"Excuse me?!" This time, Grace didn't do as good a job of hiding her surprise. Her eyebrows flickered upwards.

"Rigsby. You're upset with him, it's obvious. "

Grace stared at him, hard.

"Can I tell you something, in confidence?" she asked, suddenly.

"Of course."

"Jane - Patrick - sometimes it's very hard to be around you. I always feel as though I need to protect myself from your observations. It's awkward, especially given that, as you've deduced, something is going on between me and Wayne. No, no - hear me out, please?" she held up a hand and he fell silent, nodding to her to carry on.

"See, I like you, I think you're funny and brilliant and wise, and you're superb at what you do, and incredibly good at looking at the same scenario we all see, but somehow connecting the dots much more astutely - but you treat everyone like some kind of social experiment, and in so doing you kind of make it hard for us to be your friends."

Patrick met her gaze squarely, and didn't flinch.

"It's a fair call," he acknowledged. "Do you _want_ us to be friends?"

"I always want to be friends with people I work with and like and respect," she replied. "It's just the trust thing that I'm a little shaky on with you," she admitted.

"You don't trust me?" this time, he looked a bit hurt.

"I, I - well, I do, mostly, it's just.."

"I didn't realise it was this serious," he mused, interrupting her awkward efforts to explain.

"I'm sorry?"

"You and Wayne. Grace, six months ago you wouldn't have said boo to a goose. Now you're telling me that you don't trust me, and you feel you need to protect yourself from my observations? I knew you guys had finally confessed your attraction to each other, and I know you've been seeing each other since ... ooh, since a few weeks before you got shot, am I right? But for you to be upping the ante and telling me this.. that says to me that you know you've got something worth protecting. Grace, I get it, I do. I wanted to offer you some advice as a friend, will you listen to it?"

"Uh, sure," she answered.

"By the way, I was telling Rigsby since the first day he met you that he needed to get his act together and ask you out," Jane told her. "I've only ever had your best interests at heart."

"You told him he needed to ask me out? Funny - to hear him tell it, you were telling him to seduce me," Grace replied, drily. Jane straightened up slightly in his seat.

"Well, potayto, potahto," he said, smoothly. "But my point - and my advice - is still salient. Grace, I know you're upset with him for something. You've been cool towards him all week and he's been like a kicked puppy. I know he's out there waiting for you right now because it's going to be his first chance to apologise to you properly since we got back from Bakersville. You two.. you've got something really special. I'd hate to see you throw it away."

Grace waited until she was sure he'd finished.

"Okay, first up, yes, we had an argument, and no, I'm not going to tell you what it was about. It isn't important. And yes, tonight we'll sort it out and everything will be fine. But Patrick, it isn't up to you to tell either of us how to be around the other one. We know. I know why I'm upset - _he_ knows why I'm upset - and _we_ will sort it out. You don't have to hold our hands - you aren't the only one who's had relationship experience. And it's kinda hard to take all this unsolicited advice - _however_ well meaning - from someone who never, ever opens up in return."

"Wow, I gotta say, you're fun after a few drinks," he told her, grinning. She was almost done with her Baileys, and her cheeks were warmly flushed.

"I mean it. You want to know all about everyone else but you never open up and give back," she protested. "I can't imagine how much hurt you've been carrying around since you lost your family, but you don't talk about anything from before they died. I don't even know your daughter's name." Grace's voice wasn't accusatory, but plaintive. Patrick nodded, his face expressionless.

"You're right."

"So do you think you can unbend a little? Maybe let us in a bit? Or are we going to just keep on being your guinea pigs? I know which I'd prefer," she added, softly.

"Yo, anyone in here with a black SUV, Iowa plates, parked outside?" the bartender was standing on a stool to get everyone's attention.

"That's mine," Grace called.

"Yeah, you need to move it, sweetheart, it's blocking someone in."

Jane watched as Grace scrambled for her bag.

"Man, Rigsby's impatient," he remarked, with a grin. Grace rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"Grace, you want to know something? Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not hitting on you or anything like that, but... I think I'm a little bit jealous," he admitted, without a trace of self-consciousness. "You and Rigsby, you're just starting out, you've got everything ahead of you, everything going for you, and any idiot can tell how much you love each other. That's so, so fantastic - I feel protective of it. Sometimes that makes me cross the line," he said. "I don't mean to, and I think you know me more than well enough by now to be able to call me on it. I just want you guys to be happy. I'll wait here for ten minutes, give you guys time to talk."

Caught off guard, Grace blinked, twice. Then, bending down, she grabbed his arm.

"Come with me," she said.

Truly startled, Jane lurched after her. "Where are we going?"

Sure enough, Rigsby was leaning against Grace's jeep, arms folded across his chest and his head down. As Grace and Jane approached, he scuffed the dust with the toe of his boot.

"Hey, baby," Grace called. Rigsby looked up to see Grace holding Jane's arm, and waving to him

"Night," Jane called, waving to Rigsby. He said a couple more words to Grace, who leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then struck out away from them towards his own car without looking back.

"Are you nuts?" Rigsby hissed, as Grace crossed the road towards him. "You _told _him about us?"

"Oh please," she smiled, holding her keys out to him as she sashayed into his arms. "He totally knew. He's known for months and he's not said anything to anyone - except me, tonight. I trust him. And now, he trusts me."

"He.. what? You've been in there for thirty minutes bonding with _Jane_? What, is he coming over so you can braid each other's hair now?"

"Easy, Tiger," Grace said, her good humour unruffled. She snaked her arms around his neck. "I missed you," she whispered into ear.

Rigsby tensed up, but couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him.

"I'm only hugging you because I'm freezing," he grumbled, and she laughed. "So, how do you know Jane isn't going to tell Lisbon - or, worse, Bosco - about the two of us?"

Grace kissed his jaw, and trailed her fingers through his hair.

"He told me his daughter's name," she said, softly.

This time, when he hugged her, Rigsby relaxed.


End file.
